February 24, 2016

Christopher Harrington of the Wrestlenomics website has a really good article looking at Shane McMahon's WWE return. You can check it out on business website Seeking Alpha at this link. Harrington looks at Shane and the Chinese company YOU on Demand, which he went to work for as Chairman and CEO in 2010. YOD is looking at being a top OTT streaming and subscription service in China but has had financial troubles and other issues.

Shane has invested several million of his own dollars into YOD while their annual losses for the past seven years have ranged from $6 to $16 million. There's a lot of potential for a company like YOD in China but they face several obstacles such as piracy, state-censorship on Western content and other regulations. Shane stepped down as CEO a few years back so there could be a CEO located in China and his current title with YOD is "Founder and Vice Chairman" but he is still on the Board of Directors and was recently re-elected. He has other ties to the company through stock and several million dollars worth of loans he's made to them. Harrington also reported that Shane's most recent employment agreement was made in January 2014 and included a term of two years, which was to automatically extend for additional one-year terms unless terminated before. Harrington pointed out how Shane's role with YOD appears to be diminishing as new investors move in, especially after the most recent restructuring. There has been no official announcement that Shane resumed an executive position with WWE or that he's done with YOD but it makes for interesting speculation.

Harrington also looked at Shane's role with YOD and what it could mean for the WWE Network in China as the company looks to expand there. It will be interesting to see what kind of role he takes on with WWE after WrestleMania 32, if any, as things change with YOD in China.